Storage container for a trailer

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a container for transport and storage of excavator attachments. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a container for securing excavator attachments on a trailer. A container for retaining an excavator attachment on a trailer comprises a lower portion including a base, a pair of opposing end walls, and a front wall; a lid connected to the lower portion and arranged to pivot between a first position, in which the container may receive an excavator attachment, and a second position, in which the excavator attachment is retained by the container; and a coupling configured to secure the container to a trailer such that the end walls of the lower portion are adjacent side walls of the trailer and the front wall of the lower portion is adjacent a front wall of the trailer, wherein a depth of the lid, in a direction perpendicular to the base of the container, is greater than a depth of the lower portion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a container for transport and storageof excavator attachments. In particular, but not exclusively, thepresent invention relates to a container for securing excavatorattachments on a trailer.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Hydraulic excavators may be equipped with a number of differentattachments or tools, such as buckets, breakers, rippers, augers and thelike. Typically, excavators are transported by trailer, whilst anyattachments may be transported by trailer also, or transportedseparately by another vehicle. Often heavy and expensive, excavatorattachments may cause damage if improperly secured in transit, and maybe vulnerable to theft. Accordingly, attachments may be secured to atrailer using tie-down straps or similar, or users may transportattachments inside another vehicle, such as a van. Securing attachmentsin this way to trailers may be time consuming and vulnerable to humanerror, whilst loading attachments into a van may be impractical orunsafe for larger attachments. Additionally, it may be necessary to moveattachments from a trailer or van to a more secure storage locationafter transport.

Some of these issues have been addressed in part by trailers equippedwith features for securing attachments. These trailers may have anintegrated cage or locker for receiving attachments, such thatattachments can be enclosed and locked in place on the trailer.

The present invention provides further improvements in transportingexcavators and excavator attachments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the invention provides a container for retaining anexcavator attachment on a trailer, the container comprising:

-   -   a lower portion including a base, a pair of opposing end walls,        and a front wall;    -   a lid connected to the lower portion and arranged to pivot        between a first position, in which the container may receive an        excavator attachment, and a second position, in which the        excavator attachment is retained by the container; and    -   a coupling configured to secure the container to a trailer such        that the end walls of the lower portion are adjacent side walls        of the trailer and the front wall of the lower portion is        adjacent a front wall of the trailer,    -   wherein a depth of the lid, in a direction perpendicular to the        base of the container, is greater than a depth of the lower        portion.

Preferably the depth of the lid is more than twice the depth of thelower portion.

In preferred embodiments the coupling comprises a flange extending fromthe front wall of the lower portion. The coupling may further comprise aflange extending from each of the end walls of the lower portion.Preferably the lid is connected to the lower portion by a hinge and apart of the hinge is attached to the flange extending from the frontwall of the lower portion. In some embodiments the hinge comprises ahinge plate that extends from the flange so as to define a channelwithin which a wall of the trailer may be received to secure thecontainer to the trailer.

The lid may further comprise an arm hitch for coupling to an excavatorarm, such that the container can be lifted onto or away from the trailerby an excavator arm. Preferably the arm hitch is releasably attached tothe lid. The arm hitch may comprise a base plate including engagementfeatures configured to secure the arm hitch to the lid. The engagementfeatures preferably comprise channels within which bars of the lid areseated to secure the arm hitch to the lid.

In preferred embodiments the lid and the base comprise cooperatingfeatures configured to engage with each other such that the cooperatingfeature of the lid of a first container may be engaged with thecooperating feature of the base of a second container to retain thefirst and second containers in a stacked configuration. The cooperatingfeatures may comprise a projection and an aperture. Preferably theprojection comprises a rail member.

A second aspect of the invention provides a trailer for transporting anitem of plant machinery, the trailer comprising:

-   -   a platform including a floor for supporting the item of plant        machinery, a front end wall and two side walls; and    -   a container according to the first aspect of the invention, the        container being secured to the trailer by the coupling such that        the end walls of the lower portion of the container are adjacent        the side walls of the platform and the front wall of the        container is adjacent the front end wall of the platform.

Preferably a top edge of each of the end walls and the front wall of thelower portion of the container lie in substantially the same plane astop edges of the front end wall and the side walls of the platform.

The coupling preferably comprises a flange extending from the front wallof the lower portion that is engaged with the front end wall of theplatform and the coupling comprises a flange extending from each of theend walls of the lower portion, each end wall flange being engaged witha respective one of the side walls of the platform.

A third aspect of the invention provides a combination of a traileraccording to the second aspect of the invention and an item of plantmachinery seated on the floor of the trailer, wherein the lid of thecontainer comprises an arm hitch, and an arm of the item of plantmachinery is secured to the arm hitch.

The arm hitch preferably comprises a retainer bar and the arm of theitem of plant machinery is preferably secured to the retainer bar by aquick release coupling on the arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described by way of example only andwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a trailer including a storagecage according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a further perspective view of the storage cage of FIG. 1disposed on a trailer and in a closed configuration;

FIG. 3 is a further perspective view of the storage cage of FIG. 1disposed on a trailer and in an open configuration;

FIG. 4 is a further perspective view of the storage cage of FIG. 3 inthe open configuration;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a storage cage according to a secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view from a front of the storage cage of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 7 is a plan view from an end of the storage cage of FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a pair of storage cages as shown in FIG.5 and in a stacked configuration;

FIG. 9 is a plan view from a front of the stacked configuration ofstorage cages of FIG. 8 ; and

FIG. 10 is a plan view from an end of the stacked configuration ofstorage cages of FIG. 8 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a trailer 10 including a storage container 50 according tothe present invention. The trailer 10 is designed to safely transport anexcavator or similar plant machinery, together with associated equipmentand attachments such as buckets, breakers and the like. The excavatorwill typically be a compact excavator or mini excavator, having a weightof less than about 8.5 tonnes (otherwise referred to as a diggerexcavator or mini digger).

As shown in FIG. 1 , the trailer 10 comprises a generally rectangularplatform or bed 14 including a floor 16, a front end wall 18 and twoside walls 20. A front end 22 of the trailer 10 includes a hitch forcoupling the trailer 10 to a driven vehicle, such as a car or van. Arear end 24 of the trailer 10 comprises a tailgate or ramp 26. In thisembodiment a first end of the ramp 26 is hingedly attached to a rearedge of the floor 16. When the ramp 26 is in a lowered position, asillustrated, a second end of the ramp 26 is in contact with the groundon which the trailer 10 is standing. With the ramp 26 in the loweredposition an excavator may be driven onto the trailer 10 by being drivenup the ramp 26 and onto the floor 16 of the trailer 10. Duringtransportation the ramp 26 is preferably moved into a raised position inwhich the second end of the ramp 26 is raised off the ground and thesecond end of the ramp 26 is disposed substantially vertically above therear end of the trailer platform 14. In use, when an excavator is seatedon the floor 16 of the trailer 10, the ramp 26 is preferably placed intoits raised position such that the ramp 26 may provide a stop to limitrearward movement of the excavator on the trailer 10.

The trailer 10 further comprises a securing system 30 for securing theexcavator to the trailer 10. In particular, the securing system 30 isconfigured to restrict forward and upward movement of the excavatorrelative to the platform 14 of the trailer 10. The securing system 30may also restrict rearward movement of the excavator relative to theplatform 14.

The securing system 30 preferably comprises a retainer 32 configured toengage with a dozer blade of the excavator when the excavator is loadedonto the trailer 10.

In this embodiment the retainer 32 comprises a hook member. The hookmember includes an upright post that extends from an upper surface 17 ofthe floor 16 of the trailer 10, and a projection that extends from anupper end of the post. The projection includes an angled portion so asto define a recess for receiving an upper edge of the dozer blade.

In preferred embodiments the securing system 30 further comprises a pairof keepers 42. Each of the keepers 42 is configured to cover a part ofan undercarriage of the excavator when the excavator is seated on thefloor 16 of the trailer 10. A first keeper 42 is preferably disposedadjacent the first side wall 20 of the trailer 10, and a second keeper42 is preferably disposed adjacent the second side wall 20 of thetrailer 10. In use, a part of a first track of the excavator (on a firstside of the excavator) locates below a part of the first keeper 42 and apart of a second track of the excavator (on a second side of theexcavator) locates below a part of the second keeper 42.

The trailer 10 of the illustrated embodiment further comprises acontainer or storage cage 50, as shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 to 4 .The storage cage 50 is disposed at the front end of the floor 16 of thetrailer 10. In this embodiment the storage cage 50 is disposed betweenthe retainer 32 and the front end wall 18 of the trailer 10. The storagecage 50 is arranged to receive and retain equipment such as buckets andthe like that may be attachable to the plant machinery being transportedon the trailer 10.

The storage cage 50 comprises a lower portion including a generallyrectangular base 52 and three side walls 53, 54 extending from arespective three edges of the base 52. A flange 55, 56 extends outwardlyfrom a top edge of each of the side walls 53, 54. Two end side walls 53extend from opposite end edges of the base 52, and a distance betweenthese two end side walls 53 is substantially equal to a distance betweeninternal surfaces of the side walls 20 of the trailer 10. A front sidewall 54 extends between the two end side walls 53. A height of each ofthe side walls 53, 54 is substantially the same as a height of acorresponding one of each of the side walls 20 and the front end wall 18of the trailer 10. In this way, when the storage cage 50 is seated at afront end of the trailer 10, each of the flanges 55, 56 is seated on arespective upper edge of the side walls 20 and front end wall 18 of thetrailer 10. In particular, the flanges 55 that project from the two endside walls 53 seat on a top edge of each of the side walls 20 of thetrailer 10, and the flange 56 that projects from the front side wall 54seats on a top edge of the front end wall 18 of the trailer 10.

Each of the base 52 and side walls 53, 54 is preferably formed of a meshpanel or a panel that includes one or more openings. This minimises theweight of the storage cage 50.

The storage cage 50 further comprises a lid 58. In this embodiment thelid 58 is connected to one of the side walls 54 of the storage cage 50by a hinge 60. As shown most clearly in FIG. 4 , the lid 58 ispreferably hingedly connected to the flange 56 of the front side wall54. In preferred embodiments the hinge 60 or each of the hinges thatconnect the lower portion of the storage cage 50 to the lid 58 comprisesa hinge plate 62 that is fixed to the flange 56 of the front side wall54. In particular the hinge plate 62 extends from a free edge of theflange 56 so as to define a channel bounded by the hinge plate 62, theflange 56 and the front side wall 54 of the storage cage 50. When thestorage cage 50 is seated in a front region of the trailer 10, the topedge of the front end wall 18 of the trailer 10 is preferably receivedin the channel. In other words the front side wall flange 56 and hingeplate 62 hook over the top edge of the front end wall 18 of the trailer10 to couple the storage cage 50 to the front end wall 18 of the trailer10. This retains the storage cage 50 in a fixed position on the trailer10.

The lid 58 comprises a generally rectangular frame 64 from which extendsa mesh 66 that forms a concave upper portion of the lid 58. The upperportion of the lid 58 comprises two side wall portions 68, two end wallportions 70 and a top wall portion 72. When the lid 58 is in a closedposition the frame 64 is seated on the flanges 55, 56 of the lowerportion of the storage cage 50. In particular a side member of the frame64 seats on the flange 56 of the front side wall 54 and two end membersof the frame 64 seat on the flanges 55 of the end side walls 53.

A depth of the lid 58 (in a direction perpendicular to a plane of theframe 64) is preferably greater than a depth of the lower portion of thestorage cage 50 (in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the base52). More preferably the depth of the lid 58 is at least twice the depthof the lower portion.

The lid 58 is arranged to pivot relative to the lower portion between anopen position (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 ) in which equipment, such as anexcavator attachment, may be placed into the storage cage 50, and aclosed position (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 ) in which the equipment isretained in the storage cage 50. The storage cage 50 preferably includesa locking feature arranged to latch or lock the lid 58 in the closedposition.

The storage cage 50 is preferably sized to house a bucket attachment.The storage cage 50 may also house other types of attachment when theyare not attached to an arm of the excavator, as well as other equipment.

In the illustrated embodiment the trailer 10 comprises an A-frame 23between the trailer hitch and the bed 14 of the trailer 10. The trailer10 further comprises a breaker storage unit 74. The breaker storage unit74 is seated on a part of the A-frame 23 adjacent the front end wall 18of the trailer 10.

In this embodiment the breaker storage unit 74 comprises a housing 76having an opening 78 in a top wall. The opening 78 is sized to receiveat least a part of a breaker so that the breaker may be inserted intothe housing 76. The housing 76 is preferably configured and sized suchthat the breaker is held by the housing 76 in an upright orientationrelative to the trailer 10. This allows a breaker that is housed in thebreaker storage unit 74 to be connected to and disconnected from the armof the excavator with the excavator on the trailer 10 without requiringthe breaker to be manually lifted into a suitable position.

Because the breaker storage unit 74 is disposed adjacent the front endwall 18 of the trailer 10, in this embodiment the lid 58 of the storagecage 50 preferably includes a gap or recess 80 for accommodating a partof the breaker storage unit 74 when the lid 58 is open. In particular,and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , when the lid 58 is in the open positionthe breaker storage unit 74 is received in the gap 80 in the mesh 66 ofthe lid 58.

In some circumstances the arm of the excavator does not have anattachment secured to its end. This may be in situations in which abreaker has already been stored in the breaker storage unit 74 and/or abucket has been stored in the storage cage 50. When an excavator isloaded onto the trailer 10 it is desirable to secure the arm of theexcavator to prevent unwanted movement or slew during transportation. Inpreferred embodiments it is therefore desirable to provide an arm hitch82 to which an end of the arm of the excavator may be secured.

The arm hitch 82 preferably comprises a pair of support members 84 and aretainer bar 86 that extends between the support members 84. In use, theend of the arm of the excavator is secured to the retainer bar 86. Inparticular, a quick release coupling on the excavator arm (used forattaching buckets and the like) may be secured to the retainer bar 86.

In this embodiment the arm hitch 82 is disposed forward of the front endwall 18 of the trailer 10. In preferred embodiments however the armhitch may be disposed on or attached to the storage cage.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 to 7 , in a further embodiment of the storagecage 150, an arm hitch 182 is connected to the lid 158 of the storagecage 150. Many of the features of this embodiment of the storage cage150 and arm hitch 182 are the same as or similar to features of thefirst embodiment of the storage cage 50 and arm hitch 82, and likefeatures have been indicated by reference numbers incremented by 100.

The storage cage 150 comprises a lower portion including a generallyrectangular base 152 and three side walls 153, 154 extending from arespective three edges of the base 152. Two end side walls 153 extendfrom opposite end edges of the base 152, and a distance between thesetwo end side walls 153 is substantially equal to a distance betweeninternal surfaces of the side walls 20 of the trailer 10. A front sidewall 154 extends between the two end side walls 153. A height of each ofthe side walls 153, 154 is preferably substantially the same as a heightof a corresponding one of each of the side walls 20 and the front endwall 18 of the trailer 10. In this way, the lid 158 of the storage cage150 may be opened when the storage cage is seated on the trailer 10,without movement of the lid 158 being hampered by the side walls 20 andthe front end wall 18 of the trailer 10.

In this embodiment the lid 158 is connected to one of the side walls 154of the storage cage 150 by a hinge 160. The lid 158 comprises agenerally rectangular frame 164 from which extends two end wall portions170. A plurality of bars 90 extend between the end wall portions 170 todefine side wall portions 168 and a top wall portion 172 of the lid 158.

In this embodiment, the arm hitch 182 comprises a base plate 88 to whichthe support members 184 are connected. The base plate 88 includesengagement features 89 configured to secure the arm hitch 182 to the lid158 of the storage cage 150. In this embodiment the engagement features89 comprise channels within which bars 90 of the lid 158 may be seatedto secure the arm hitch 182 to the lid 158. The engagement features 89are preferably configured such that the arm hitch 182 may be releasablysecured to the storage cage 150.

With the arm hitch 182 secured to the lid 158 of the storage cage 150,and the storage cage 150 secured to the trailer 10, an arm of anexcavator may be attached to the retainer bar 186 of the arm hitch 182to secure the arm of the excavator to prevent unwanted movement or slewduring transportation.

Furthermore, when it is desired to access the contents of the storagecage 150, the arm of the excavator may be used to open and close the lid158 of the storage cage 150.

Because the storage cages 50, 150 of the present invention comprise botha lower portion, including a base 52, 152, and a lid 58, 158, it will beappreciated that the storage cages 50, 150 may be removed from thetrailer 10 whilst still being used to store equipment such as bucketsand the like. The attachment of the arm hitch 182 to the storage cage150 means that an excavator (with its arm secured to the arm hitch 182)may be used to lift the storage cage 150 on and off the trailer 10.

In embodiments in which the storage cage 50, 150 is removable from thetrailer 10, it is therefore also desirable for the storage cage 50, 150to be stackable so as to be able to efficiently and effectively storeequipment at a suitable site.

One such stacking arrangement is illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10 . In thisembodiment each of the storage cages 150 includes cooperating features92 that align and engage with features of a neighbouring storage cage150 to retain the cages 150 in a stacked configuration.

The cooperating features 92 comprise a projection 94 that extendsupwardly from the lid 158 of the cage 150 and a recess or aperture 96 inthe base 152 of the cage 150. In use, the projection 94 of a firststorage cage 150 a engages with the recess or aperture 96 in the base ofa second neighbouring storage cage 150 b to retain them in a stackedconfiguration.

In this embodiment the cooperating features 92 comprise a pair of railmembers 94 projecting from the top wall portion 172 of the lid 158. Afirst one of the rail members 94 is disposed proximate a first one ofthe end wall portions 170 and a second one of the rail members 94 isdisposed proximate a second one of the end wall portions 170. Alongitudinal axis of each of the rail members 94 extends substantiallyparallel to the plane of the end wall portions 170.

The base 152 of the storage cage 150 comprises a substantiallyrectangular perimeter frame 153. The perimeter frame 153 comprises twolonger side members 155 and two shorter end members 157. The perimeterframe 153 extends around and defines a central aperture 96 in the base152 of the cage 150.

In use, when a second storage cage 150 b is located on top of a firststorage cage 150 a in a stacked configuration, each of the rail members94 of the first storage cage 150 a locates in the central aperture 96 inthe base 152 of the second storage cage 150 b. A spacing between the tworail members 94 is preferably such that the first rail member 94 isdisposed adjacent a first one of the two end members 157 of theperimeter frame 153 and the second rail member 94 is disposed adjacent asecond one of the two end members 157. Furthermore, a length of each ofthe rail members 94 is preferably substantially the same as a distancebetween the two side members 155 of the perimeter frame 153.

In this way, movement of the second storage cage 150 b relative to thefirst storage cage 150 a in opposite first and second directions isprevented by contact between one of the rail members 94 and therespective one of the end members 157 of the perimeter frame 153, andmovement of the second storage cage 150 b relative to the first storagecage 150 a in opposite third and fourth directions (perpendicular to thefirst and second directions) is prevented by contact between ends of therail members 94 and a respective one of the side members 155 of theperimeter frame 153.

In other embodiments the cooperating features 92 may have any suitablearrangement and configuration that prevents movement of a second storagecage relative to a first storage cage in a plane parallel to a plane ofthe base of the second storage cage.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10 , the arm hitch 182 isremoved from the lid 158 of the first storage cage 150 a before thesecond storage cage 150 b is placed on top. In some embodiments thesecond storage cage 150 b may be secured to the first storage cage 150a, and an arm hitch 182 may remain attached to the lid 158 of the secondstorage cage 150 b. In these embodiments an excavator arm secured to thearm hitch 182 may then be used to lift and manoeuvre both the first andsecond storage cages 150 a, 150 b together.

In other embodiments the arm hitch 182 may remain attached to the lid158 of the first storage cage 150 a when a second storage cage 150 b ispositioned on top in the stacked configuration. In these embodiments thebase 152 of the storage cage 150 may comprise a recess or aperture inwhich the arm hitch 182 is received in the stacked configuration.

It will be appreciated that an arm hitch may be attached to the lid ofthe storage cage 50 of the first embodiment. The arm hitch may beconfigured to engage with the mesh 66 of the lid 58 of the storage cage50. In particular, the arm hitch may include a base plate that includesengagement features configured to secure the arm hitch to the mesh 66.The arm hitch may extend across the gap 80 in the mesh 66 of the lid 58.

Other modifications and variations not explicitly disclosed above mayalso be contemplated without departing from the scope of the inventionas defined in the appended claims.

1. A container for retaining an excavator attachment on a trailer, thecontainer comprising: a lower portion including a base, a pair ofopposing end walls, and a front wall; a lid connected to the lowerportion and arranged to pivot between a first position, in which thecontainer may receive an excavator attachment, and a second position, inwhich the excavator attachment is retained by the container; and acoupling configured to secure the container to a trailer such that theend walls of the lower portion are adjacent side walls of the trailerand the front wall of the lower portion is adjacent a front wall of thetrailer,  wherein a depth of the lid, in a direction perpendicular tothe base of the container, is greater than a depth of the lower portion.2. The container of claim 1 wherein the depth of the lid is more thantwice the depth of the lower portion.
 3. The container of claim 1,wherein the coupling comprises a flange extending from the front wall ofthe lower portion.
 4. The container of claim 3, wherein the couplingfurther comprises a flange extending from each of the end walls of thelower portion.
 5. The container of claim 3, wherein the lid is connectedto the lower portion by a hinge and a part of the hinge is attached tothe flange extending from the front wall of the lower portion.
 6. Thecontainer of claim 5, wherein the hinge comprises a hinge plate thatextends from the flange so as to define a channel within which a wall ofthe trailer may be received to secure the container to the trailer. 7.The container of claim 1, the lid further comprising an arm hitch forcoupling to an excavator arm, such that the container can be lifted ontoor away from the trailer by an excavator arm.
 8. The container of claim7, wherein the arm hitch is releasably attached to the lid.
 9. Thecontainer of claim 8 wherein the arm hitch comprises a base plateincluding engagement features configured to secure the arm hitch to thelid.
 10. The container of claim 9 wherein the engagement featurescomprise channels within which bars of the lid are seated to secure thearm hitch to the lid.
 11. The container of claim 1, wherein the lid andthe base comprise cooperating features configured to engage with eachother such that the cooperating feature of the lid of a first containermay be engaged with the cooperating feature of the base of a secondcontainer to retain the first and second containers in a stackedconfiguration.
 12. The container of claim 11, wherein the cooperatingfeatures comprise a projection and an aperture.
 13. The container ofclaim 12, wherein the projection comprises a rail member.
 14. A trailerfor transporting an item of plant machinery, the trailer comprising: aplatform including a floor for supporting the item of plant machinery, afront end wall and two side walls; and the container of claim 1, thecontainer being secured to the trailer by the coupling such that the endwalls of the lower portion of the container are adjacent the side wallsof the platform and the front wall of the container is adjacent thefront end wall of the platform.
 15. The trailer of claim 14, wherein atop edge of each of the end walls and the front wall of the lowerportion of the container lie in substantially the same plane as topedges of the front end wall and the side walls of the platform.
 16. Thetrailer of claim 14, wherein the coupling comprises a flange extendingfrom the front wall of the lower portion that is engaged with the frontend wall of the platform and the coupling comprises a flange extendingfrom each of the end walls of the lower portion, each end wall flangebeing engaged with a respective one of the side walls of the platform.17. A combination of the trailer of claim 14, and an item of plantmachinery seated on the floor of the trailer, wherein the lid of thecontainer comprises an arm hitch, and an arm of the item of plantmachinery is secured to the arm hitch.
 18. The combination of claim 17,wherein the arm hitch comprises a retainer bar and the arm of the itemof plant machinery is secured to the retainer bar by a quick releasecoupling on the arm.